1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise treadmill, and more particularly, to an exercise treadmill whose deck is selectively raised or lowered for temporary storage or for use during an exercise session.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional exercise treadmill is used for in-place walking, jogging, and running exercise. In order to promote its functions, an elevator assembly for a fold-up treadmill, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, is developed. The elevator assembly comprising two elevating tubes, a connecting rod, two slide rails, a drive apparatus and a telescopic rod is interposed between a deck and a base. The telescopic rod is driven by the drive apparatus into rotation so that a spindle makes a telescopic movement in a sleeve for extending and retracting the connecting rod. Accordingly, the elevating tubes pivotably move along a bottom rod of the base for elevating the deck. However, the elevating action of this conventional assembly takes a longer time, thereby increasing the load of the motor during the transmission session and shortening the operational life thereof. In addition, the spindle is inclinedly disposed in the sleeve for the telescopic movement while the other end of the sleeve is attached to the connecting rod so that the spindle shakes with the increasing length to the sleeve when the telescopic rod extends and retracts the connecting rod.
Furthermore, the aforementioned treadmill only provides the elevating function to the deck. However, the deck has to be manually folded for storage or transportation. It""s inconvenient, time-wasting and energy-wasting. Although the exercise treadmill with a foldable deck for storage and for use during an exercise session is available on the market, it is configured with two motors and two drive units. As a result, its configuration is complex and its production is costly.
It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an elevating apparatus for an exercise treadmill by which an elevating and a folding function are available to meet different requirements of users.